{"nrhp_refnum":"78000692","name":"Oaks, The","other_names":["William N. Monroe House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"250 N. Primrose Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Monrovia","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.156081595000046,"lon":-118.00282564499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-04-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story-and-attic wood-frame residence at 250 North Primrose Avenue in Monrovia, Los Angeles County, California, built in 1885 for William Newton Monroe and designed by Los Angeles architect Solomon I. Haas.","why_significant":"It was the home of William N. Monroe, founder and first mayor of Monrovia, and served as an early social center for visitors and residents. It is described as the second oldest residence in Monrovia and its most important link to early settlement. It is also considered one of the city's best examples of Victorian architecture.","narrative":"Built in 1885 at 250 North Primrose Avenue, The Oaks is a two-story-and-attic wood-frame house in Monrovia that combines Stick and Eastlake styles. Its square plan includes projecting gables and a two-story square tower at the southwest corner, with a bracketed cornice, corbelled chimneys, stickwork gables, fishscale shingles and an iron crocket on the tower. Inside, the original redwood paneling, staircase and fireplace mantels survive. The house was commissioned by William Newton Monroe, a contractor and railroad builder who helped found Monrovia and served as its first mayor. Los Angeles architect Solomon I. Haas designed it. With no hotels in the young community, the home became a social center for visitors and early citizens. In 1890 it briefly housed a women's college, and during World War II it was divided into rooms for boarders. It is regarded as the second oldest residence in Monrovia and a prime example of the city's Victorian architecture. Restoration began after a 1977 sale.","period_of_significance":"1885","architect_builder":"Solomon I. Haas","architectural_style":"Combination of Stick and Eastlake styles","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied as a private residence; the new owners were restoring it as a single-family home at the time of nomination (1977).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.325785-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000692.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000692/811c844193-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000692/811c844193-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Einbierbitte","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Oaks_Monrovia_3.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Einbierbitte</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Oaks_Monrovia_3.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859359","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oaks_(Monrovia,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7754588"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/oaks-the-78000692/"}